1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus configured to calculate an operating time of an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an operation rate of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral refers to a proportion of a time in which the image forming apparatus actually processes a job, such as printing, to a time in which the image forming apparatus is operated. The operation rate is used for analyzing an operation state of the image forming apparatus. Based on the analysis, a most suitable model is selected and offered to a customer.
Conventionally, in calculating the operation rate of he image forming apparatus, a job processing time of the image forming apparatus is calculated by subtracting a start time from an end time of a job recorded in a job execution history (job log information) of the image forming apparatus. Next, a total processing time of jobs which are processed in a certain period is calculated. Then, the operation rate of the image forming apparatus in the certain period is obtained using the calculation result. The operation rate is used for analyzing the operation state of the image forming apparatus.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-132912 discusses a system which acquires a number of sheets processed by an image data processing apparatus in a predetermined period as information that indicates a usage state of the image data processing apparatus to be analyzed. Then, whether a capacity of the image data processing apparatus is appropriate for a usage by a customer is determined according to the capacity of the analyzed image data processing apparatus and the number of sheets processed in the predetermined period. If the image data processing apparatus is determined to be inappropriate, information about a model that is appropriate for the usage by the customer is selected from a database and offered to the user.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-140297 discusses an operation rate calculation system in which a node connected to a network is monitored at a predetermined polling interval. In this way, an occurrence time and a recovery time of a malfunction are detected and a down time of the node can be calculated.
In an operation rate analysis of an image forming apparatus, a job processing time is calculated by subtracting a start time from an end time of a job which is recorded in job log information. However, according to the above-described method, a suspension time of the job due to an error of the image forming apparatus is not considered in the calculation of the job processing time. For example, if an error such as a paper jam occurs during an execution of a print job, the print job is stopped until the error is removed. The end time of the processing of the print job after the image forming apparatus is recovered is recorded in the job log as the job end time. Thus, the time the operation of the image forming apparatus is stopped due to the error is included in the job processing time.
In analyzing a load of an image forming apparatus from a sum of job processing times, if a suspension time in which the image forming apparatus is not processing a job due to an error is included in the job processing time, the estimated load will be higher than an actual load.